What is ACTA? ACTA is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. A new intellectual property enforcement treaty being negotiated by the United States, the European Community, Switzerland, and Japan, with Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Canada recently announcing that they will join in as well.
Why should you care about ACTA? Initial reports indicate that the treaty will have a very broad scope and will involve new tools targeting “Internet distribution and information technology.”
What is the goal of ACTA? Reportedly the goal is to create new legal standards of intellectual property enforcement, as well as increased international cooperation, an example of which would be an increase in information sharing between signatory countries’ law enforcement agencies.
Read the authentic version of the ACTA text as of 15 April 2011, as finalized by participating countries here: ACTA Finalized Text
Follow the history of the treaty’s formation here: ACTA history
Read letters from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden wherein he challenges the constitutionality of ACTA: Letter 1 | Letter 2 | Read the Administration’s Response to Wyden’s First Letter here: Response
Watch a short informative video on ACTA: ACTA Video
People look at me and they don't see what I've learned. They don't see the 30+ pounds of weight I've lost. THey don't see me SEEKING SALADS (What?! Ludicrous!)
Because they don't see any of that, and that food is a highly personal thing, I feel like I'm talking to a wall when it comes to the Whole30.
I feel kinda silly, like when I tried to convert others to my religious beliefs from when I was dating CD.
So in light of that, how come everybody already regards it as out of their reach, or invalid?
I really don't want to force anybody to try it. On the other hand, I find myself distraught that so many rely on doubts. "Wheat's healthy", or "I have to eat Ice cream," or "I have responsibilities outside of myself," or "I can't afford it".. The thing is, that if somebody believes in any of this, they'd try to make it work. I know I could, even when I had to go to a convention (Bad eating, drinking, etc.).
So the problem isn't that nobody's deciding to do it-- it's that they've already decided they shouldn't possibly do it.
All in all, it sounds so similar to a basic problem. People don't want advice they didn't ask for.
alongside the typical situation of, "Why didn't you say anything?" "Because you never asked."
Maybe nobody thinks I have knowledge, or that I have any validity/proof to it. I suppose I pride myself on being dogmatic, but I worry that this respect and hate of rules makes me seem less reputable.
Essentially, one group of people can be on a level 5 connection, but then that same group can be in another regularly-meeting situation with a few more people and be a "I'm great" group where they sabotage each other.
It's a long talk, but there's more to it than what I've said above. Thoughts?
Got there late Friday after buying gloves. Drove there in the cutie's car. :3 Lots of people, but I managed to remember almost all of their names.. well, at least those I got to talk to. Very few people seemed to be "Someone I don't want to talk to". Besides that, I was pretty much a monster over and over again. Nothing special (EG: Dangerous), and a nobody (EG: Not a NPC who interacted. :S) Definitely'd do it again. I'm exhausted after all the NPCing, but it was spectacular.
A lot more fun than FF, sad to say. Maybe it's 'cause FF didn't seem to have that much activity? Hm...
Though I was brief, I hope what I said made it apparent: I'm interested in going to future NERO events with LeeAnn. :3
Sad to say, I've barely had time to focus on what I want to work on.. EG: My game. I finally started doing a few things tonight (cutting up an old design I made into IMGs before CSS), but I'm wracked with worries.. as usual. "Should I do a drag/drop, or resizable div interface? Or should I stick with the frames I had originally?" I really don't want to use frames, but I am so goddamned lazy. Maybe I should just 'get something out' before I begin the fine-tuning, eh? Might as well move while I can.
Finally: I haven't touched my LJ design, icons, etc, in awhile. Same with Nateway. I wish I kept up more with them, but..
So the question is, now what? eevee, I"m thinking that maybe a wordpress plugin that remotely validates with another WP website that it has the authorization to read locked/friends posts. It won't solve the problem of 'where it is hosted', but it would offer LJ 'friend' functionality outside of LJ. I wonder if such a plugin exists...
Oohhghghghg.
I came down with a bad case of food poisoning this past monday morning. Still reeling from it. Had to call out of work... For some reason, my work's mail never gets to GMail. Even worse is that I just got a facebook message from a coworker all, "Where were you today?" So I know they didn't get it... Kinda infuriating.
I called at lunch and then didn't leave a voicemail because I thought they might've gotten it, and I just didn't get a reply..
Anyways, going to take a cold shower and hop in bed... Still feeling kinda cruddy, but here's hoping.
Why? Business is broken. We all know it, even if were scared to admit it. Most of us feel screwed, and many of us feel helpless to change it. We have become slaves to our infrastructure to businesss controlling tools, procedures and mandates. Somethings got to give. Something already has. Workers everywhere are beginning to cut through that control, cut through bureaucratic stupidity. Theyre hacking their work.
I just got an e-mail about this from the guy who built a box that could train crows to gather coins. He wrote that book, and I'm intending to look into it more.
Maybe you are interested, too.
Exhausted, but awake-- what a weekend :O
What a weekend.. I've been pretty busy after all the parties I went to and how little I've slept... Even got my car scraped up a bit. However, I got a bit of reading to do, so I'm going to read as much as I can, as fast as I can..
Do I keep the lame 500 as a scratch or torrent disk and ignore the 80 GB disk, meaning I reinstall or move my existing OS? Do I keep the 80 as my primary and keep all my data on the RAID? If so, any partitioning ideas? What about my Page file? Do I partition the new 1.5 TB raid setup for more than my data, such as my main OS?
Maybe I shouldn't've done this, and I should've gone with Carbonite/Mozy. 500 Gigs to back up is a lot, though.
I'm leaning towards 80 as my primary, and all data on the RAID.. I hate putting torrents and scratch files on the raid drives, though. I may have no alternative, of course.
Wade Davis
My friend in western MA who I trust on many things was saying the following things about the shitty culture shove going on in Brazil. LIke, cultures and tribes being shoved out of where they used to be into shitty towns..
Mentor Friend: there are several accounts of anthropologists Mentor Friend: upon meeting the local shaman Mentor Friend: in south america Mentor Friend: being amazed when the shaman suddenly says that he is initiating them Mentor Friend: because they are the ONLY PEOPLE the shaman has met, even from their own culture Mentor Friend: who have given a shit about the traditions Mentor Friend: and the shamans were afraid that the tradition was going to die with them Mentor Friend: so instead they initiate the anthropologist, because their own people didnt care anymore Mentor Friend: this stuff is dying fast Me: .... :| Mentor Friend: wade davis, esteemed anthropologist and ethnobotinist said Mentor Friend: every day one of these guys dies Mentor Friend: and its like loosing the library of alexandria every day Mentor Friend: its why he is so passionate about this
I mean, I can handle really strange art, really strange pictures, and really strange things said.
But what people do on the internet to others steels me.
I suppose you should pardon me-- I grew up with a lot of media, a lot of internet. I'm almost exanimate about every story I hear-- I don't immediately assume it's true, I don't immediately believe it's provable, and I know that some stories are too complex to just take a mental shortcut. I've been in a variety of life situations, and none of them are as bad as those of others.
Though I have such a past, I still find the forces of nature on the internet fearsome. Swells of people who beat down upon others. Waves of people suffocating swimmers in an ocean of preconceptions. Thunder from the darkness-- from those you trust. Thunder striking at your heart. A terror bolt exposing your soft earth for all to see. Thunder built up by the electricity of goading and clique discussions to strike at you through an old friend. A deafening echo that only beats back to you what you say to it. An echo that never changes its mocking tone.
The internet is a very dangerous place.
It's for many reasons like this that I remain in awe and suspense of what I say and do anywhere. There are so many whose first response to drama is to announce their lies and slander to everyone. There are those who would take a sordid past and turn it into blackmail money. I have so little personal history, but what I have I suppose I will drag to my grave.
Because of this, I try to live my life with as few regrets as possible. I know that they are ammunition for cutthroats.
My experiences have made me less eager to point the finger. My mom used to say that if everybody in the class but me is throwing stuff at the teacher, I'd be the only one caught for the blame. It's made me realize how heavy the head is that wears the crown. And, it's made me unlikely to fight someone else's battles.
I'm not interested in 'white knighting'. It's moreso mobbing, to me.
And that's the terrifying force of nature of the internet-- its righteous Crusades and blind crusaders.
Had a great day yesterday.
I woke up a bit late yesterday. I wanted to take the T from Alewife to Boston Common.. but that didn't happen. Woke up late. So, instead I drove and parked for $$$. I met up with Shunsuke and we watched They Might Be Giants on stage with a bunch of other people. It was AWESOME. They played like, 20 songs. I also went to the Musem of Science after and ran around as much as I could in 3 hours... and wow, I ran out of time. Whew.
I talked to a girl on the subway and I got her #. I've been finding it hard to get a block of time to just talk to her and get to know her better.. so maybe tomorrow'll work out!
Today, I was called into work to work again. It was pretty good, and then afterwards I went to this gaming club. A few more dramatic/awkward moments... 8| ULtimately fun, though. 83 Playing a spunky/b***hy/conniving/temptress b***h. <:3
It's SO hard to think on my feet in response to some of the good insults. She almost got picked up and tossed into some dangerous places D:
So yeah.. BUSY BUSY Days. I don't know how I"m getting so busy, so fast. It's good, though.
Do I have 'goals' anymore? I dunno. Things I'd like to accomplish, sure.... Maybe I'll look up how to make an android App. That could be cool. First I make the app, then I make the money, and then? I get the weemen. :p
In related news, weird dream last night. I can't remember who I was e****ting, but a rabid dog was coming close to us. In a strange bit of subliminal programming, I had some fries and a big McDonalds chocolate shake in my dream... and so I threw the fries I had to placate the rabid dog and to get me and the (?) away.
I had a so-so time at PAX. I didn't know a lot of people there, and it was hard for me to get the moxie to break the ice. I think I only broke the ice a few times to good avail. A lot of time was spent waiting in line. It's hard to downplay this-- I think I spent at least 6 hours simply standing or sitting in a line. 2.5 hours waiting in line to get into the Keynote. 2 to get into MMORPG Gamer Behavior (not really worth it?). 1 to get into the Alpha Protocol "But thou must!" panel. (TOTALLY worth it!). One hour waiting to try "Skate 3', but I gave up waiting. 15 minutes waiting to get into free PC gaming. I didn't get as much swag as others, but I think I'll be OK.
Who really helped my con experience: Nito. I had a great time talking with him and hanging out, and both he and I were sad to part at the end of the two nights we were still hanging out during :/
No progress on my game, save being interested in using APE. So cool.